


Commonality

by celeste9



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Character Study, Episode Tag, F/M, First Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-02
Updated: 2014-07-02
Packaged: 2018-02-07 04:06:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1884672
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/celeste9/pseuds/celeste9
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Clarke and Bellamy reach an understanding.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Commonality

**Author's Note:**

> For smallfandomfest, 'Clarke/Bellamy, they're not as different as she thought'. Spoilers through 'I am Become Death'.

Clarke stood gazing out into the trees beyond the camp. Everything was still and quiet, the peaceful serenity of the forest undisturbed. It didn’t look like a warzone. It didn’t look like a place where someone would set off a bomb.

But it was.

The sound of crunching leaves alerted Clarke to an approaching presence. She wasn’t surprised to see that it was Bellamy.

He didn’t say anything, just stood at her shoulder.

It was Clarke who broke the silence. “Did we do the right thing?”

“We had no choice.”

“There’s always a choice.”

“But not always a good one.”

No. It seemed like ever since they had landed on the ground, their choices were always between bad and worse. Clarke was tired of trying to do the right thing when it was impossible to know what the right thing was. She was tired of… She was just tired.

“I figure,” Bellamy said, shifting, “that it couldn’t be that bad if it was Finn’s idea. Him being the pacifist and all.”

“I guess,” Clarke said. The more worrying thought was the possibility that Finn was changing just like the rest of them, that he was losing that bright spark of hope, his belief in good and in peace, the things that Clarke loved about him so much.

Clarke wasn’t certain she liked the person she was changing into. She didn’t want Finn to become like that, too. Hard and cold and calculating, practical to a fault.

She wondered if Bellamy was actually as upset by what they’d done as she was. Did he cling to the fact that Finn had thought of the bomb in order to make himself feel better about his own role? She wondered how successful a tactic it was.

They had lapsed into silence again, but this time it was Bellamy who spoke. “I didn’t come down here to be in charge, you know. I just wanted to protect Octavia. But the Grounders will kill all of us if we let them and if it’s them or us, I’m gonna choose us. Every time.”

“You make it sound simple.”

“Nothing’s simple about this.”

Clarke turned away from the view of the trees in front of her to observe Bellamy’s profile. His jaw was tight and he was staring straight ahead, gripping his gun so firmly that his knuckles were almost white. Last night she had told him that it was hard to lead. She didn’t think she had realized just how hard it was for Bellamy until this moment.

“You’re less of an ass than I thought you were,” Clarke said.

“Gee, thanks,” Bellamy drawled, rolling his eyes a little. “That’s high praise from you, princess.”

“I’m serious,” she said. “You were… you were _horrible._ But I guess I get it now. All you wanted was to take care of your sister, no matter what it took. I’m not sure I can really understand that. I don’t… I don’t have a sister. But I’ve done things I wish I hadn’t because I felt like it was all I could do. Maybe if I had a sister, I would have done even crazier things.”

It was an odd thought. Clarke didn’t think she and Bellamy were so different, after all. They were both trying to do what they thought needed to be done. They had both made mistakes.

Bellamy glanced away from her, looking uncomfortable. “Octavia’s my responsibility.”

“Yeah. And now so are all these other kids.”

“But not you.”

Clarke blinked. “I…”

“You’re not the kind of girl who lets anyone make your decisions for you.”

“When they go wrong, I’d prefer to have no one to blame but myself.” Clarke had spent too much time blaming the people she cared about. It was easier to carry the guilt herself.

“That’s optimistic.”

“Yeah, well, we’re probably all gonna die, so.” Clarke wasn’t being entirely serious but sometimes optimism felt too far beyond her capabilities. Too much of an effort.

Bellamy snickered.

Clarke stared at him.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… You can be a real downer, Clarke, you know that?”

“What, and you’re such a fount of joy?” Clarke elbowed Bellamy in the side.

“I’m an old man compared to you, I’m allowed to be grumpy.” Bellamy was almost grinning.

“You’re not that old,” Clarke said, though to be honest, she had no idea how old Bellamy actually was. Older than the rest of them, and maybe that was all that mattered.

“Old enough to _feel_ old,” he said, the tiniest sigh passing through his lips.

Clarke knew she wasn’t as old as Bellamy but somehow she understood what he meant. It felt like she had aged fifteen years in her time on the ground. Sometimes she watched the others laughing and joking around and felt like there wasn’t enough room in her life for that anymore. Everything was about survival and impossible choices and she had nearly forgotten what it felt like to have fun.

Clarke could feel Bellamy watching her but she didn’t want to look at him. That was probably why it was such a shock when she felt his fingertips touch her jaw.

She gazed wide-eyed at him, her eyes flickering down to his mouth, and stood still when he pressed his lips to hers. It was quick and light and over in an instant.

Clarke raised her hand to her mouth, fingers brushing against her bottom lip. “What was that?”

Bellamy smiled crookedly. “You looked like you needed it.”

“So you volunteered yourself? How noble of you.”

“You know me. Pinnacle of nobility.”

In spite of herself, Clarke smiled back. “Well, thanks, I guess.”

Bellamy bent in a sweeping, mock bow. “My pleasure.”

Clarke wondered if Bellamy might like to kiss her again sometime. She was surprised by how open she was to the possibility.

Maybe she would kiss him first, even.

Clarke was changing. She knew she was. Maybe they all were - none of them were the same people they had been on the Ark, not really. Being on the ground had changed them in ways they could never have imagined. Bellamy wasn’t the same guy who had smashed all their wristbands. Clarke wasn’t the same angry girl who had tried to hate her best friend. They were both different now.

Maybe that didn’t have to be such a bad thing.

**_End_ **


End file.
